Chapter 21

The next morning, I wake up to Michael softly kissing my neck. I open my mouth but no words come out. My eyes still feel heavy from sleep.

"It's still early. Go to bed." Michael says softly. I want to tell him that it's hard to sleep when he's caressing me, but in fact in was easier.

I sigh and turn my head, still feeling Michael rub my stomach and then nuzzle my nose. I smile and sleep takes me for a little while.

When I finally wake up, Michael isn't in bed. I look at the clock which reads 6:38. My classes start at 8:00.

I throw the covers off of me and walk into the bathroom. I squirt some mint toothpaste on my toothbrush and start to clean my teeth. Halfway through, Michael comes in and wraps his arms around me.

"Hey," He says. I lean down to gargle the water in my mouth and spit it out, finally allowing myself to speak.

"Hi Michael." I say, turning around to face him. He grabs a towel for me to wipe my mouth and then kisses me.

"Are you ready for today?" He questions. It is then that I feel nervousness coming on.

"Yeah, I am." I say. He raises his eyebrows.

"You're nervous." He says shortly. It's my turn to raise my eyebrows.

"Are you some type of psychic or something? How did you know?" I say incredulously. He simply shrugs.

"I don't know. When you know someone, you can tell exactly what they're feeling by their expression or the way they talk. That's what happened with you."

"Oh," I say. Something about that terrifies me. I don't want anyone up in my head, even if it is Michael.

"Why weren't you in bed?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, just working on a few things." He answers evasively.

I don't press him about it because frankly, I don't have the time. I look at the clock that now reads 6:47. I need to hurry.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower." I say, thinking this would shoo him away. Instead, he walks closer to me with a smirk and runs his fingers across the hem of my baggy shorts.

"Feel free to invite me to take one with you." I blush scarlet, to which he chuckles.

"I'll take that as a no," he says. I shake my head and push him out of the bathroom, closing and locking the door.

Even though we've made love, I feel so weird and insecure when I'm unclothed with Michael. But I don't blame myself. Getting comfortable around him is definitely something that needs time.

I step into the shower and turn on the shower. The water creates a cascade that rains on my now wet body. I use ocean breeze bar soap and rub it all across my body before lathering some strawberry shampoo in my long hair. I wait for the shampoo to settle in while I wash off the rest of my body. Then I squeeze out the water in my hair and step outside. I notice I forgot to wrap a towel around my body. Thank heavens I locked the door.

Going into my connecting closet, I pull on some undergarments and for a California day in May, I feel like it'll be pretty warm. I grab the outfit I laid out yesterday and slip it on, getting a satisfied and comfortable fit. I pull my hair into a ponytail and take one last look at myself before heaving my book bag on my back and descending the stairs.

I feel a smile tug on my face as the smell of breakfast becomes stronger with every step.

"I made you breakfast," Michael says from the stove. He's frying some eggs.

"Really? Thanks." Michael points to a plate set out for me and I sit down and eat the waffles, pancakes and eggs. I wash it all down with a cool glass of orange juice.

"Hey Alondra, I'm gonna go film now. I promise I'll see you, okay?" I nod, realizing I completely forgot about that.

"Kiss me," he says, moving his face closer to mine. I take his face in my hands and plant one on his lips. He smiles as I let go.

"Good luck," he calls as he walks to the door.

"You too," I call back. I quickly makes sure that everything is ready, going back to brush my teeth another time. Then Kristen knocks on the door.

"Good morning Kristen!" We exchange hugs and walk out the door.

"Where's James?" I question.

"He's in the car already." She answers. I wiggle my eyebrows and she playfully hits me.

"Oh be quiet! Come on, we mustn't be late," she says, ushering me into the car before entering herself.

"Good morning James," I greet him as I click my seatbelt on.

"Same to you Alondra. How are you feeling?" He asks.

"Fine, just a little tired and nervous." I reply. He nods at me before backing out of the driveway.

"Understandable." We make small talk until the University comes into view. I realize that my heart starts to pound as we near even closer.

"Hey, can you park right in front of that bridge right there?" I ask, pointing out of the window. "I told a friend I'd meet them there."

"Okay. Who's this friend?" Kristen questions.

"He was Cameron, my tour guide. We have a couple classes and he said he'd walk me to class."

James pulls the car up and then looks back at me.

"Best of luck Alondra!" They say. I say goodbye before taking a breath and getting out of the vehicle. They speed off as I walk to the bridge. Sure enough, Cameron is waiting for me.

I call out his name and he looks up and smiles before waving me over.

"Hey what's up?" We share a hug and pull away.

"Just waiting for you. I want you to meet a couple people." He says.

He leads me to the nearest library and a group of guys are standing and chatting.

"Hey man." They all greet each other and then turn to me.

"And who's this?" One says. He has white blonde hair and emerald eyes. His hair is in an undercut and he smiles at me, his teeth a bit crooked.

"This is Alondra. Alondra, this is Logan, Luis, and Conor." I shake hands with each of them, now learning the green-eyed boy is Conor.

Logan has light brown skin and bright eyes. Luis has very dark eyes, almost black, and doesn't smile once. He doesn't look like someone I want to hang around with.

"Alondra's new here. It's her first day, so I'm helping her adjust here and stuff," Cameron explains. They nod.

"Well Alondra, if you ever need anything, we're here to help too." Logan says. I smile gratefully.

"Thank you guys so much." I say.

"Hey, classes start soon. You have Economics first, right?" Cameron asks. I nod my head.

"Then we better get going." We say goodbye and off we go.

The classroom is an auditorium with at least 500 seats. There's a huge stage and screen sitting on it. Cameron and I walk to the middle of the classroom and take our seats. People begin to file in by the hundreds minutes later.

Right at 8 o'clock, the professor walks out onto the stage. Everyone begins to clap so I join along.

"Good morning isn't it class?" The professor says. "Now what I want to know.. Is if there are any new students among us? Stand up please."

My heartbeat begins to speed up. I hate this kind of widespread attention, especially on my first day.

"Stand up," Cameron murmurs to me, nudging my shoulder. I look around and there's two others on their feet.

"But I don't want--" I get cut off by Cameron hoisting me up and forcing me to stand. My face turns red as I try to stand there as normally as possible.

The professor raises his arms openly.

"Ahh, excellent! I thought there was one more." He keeps his gaze on me for a split second longer and then turns to the general audience.

"Please make your way up to the stage." I freeze. Standing up was enough. I don't want to go to that stage. I look to Cameron for help.

He says, "Just go, nothing will happen to you. He does this every day." That still doesn't give me much assurance.

I hastily move to the end of my row and walk across the light brown tile, my flats echoing. I walk up the small steps and make my way to the professor.

"Your name darling?" He asks.

"Uhm, Alondra Cade." I answer.

"Pleasure. I'm Professor Meeks. Go stand over there to where they are."

I walk over to the other two new students. I finally get a good look at them.

"Hi, I'm Alondra," I say to the boy standing next to me. He looks nervous and gives me a quick smile before looking away, not introducing himself.

"Hi, I'm--" I stop myself, realizing who I'm speaking to. None other than Ching Lang Fen. I nearly stop breathing.

"Surprise surprise," she sniggers, obviously recognizing me. My eyes start to sting.

This is going to be a long day.

--

-Joy ✌️